Air-cooled rotary valve



C. W. HALL lAIR cooLED ROTARY VALVE' De@ 1o, 1946.

Filed March 20, 1945 INVENTOR. CHA/QMS h( HALL.

Patented Dec. 10, 1946 AIR-000ml) ROTARY VALVE Charles W. Hall', Denver, Cold., assgnor to` Malcolm S. Losey, Denver, Colo.`

`AplzilicationL March 20, 1945, Serial N0. 583,803

This" invention relates to a rotary valve for' internal: combustion' engines and has' for' its principal' object the provision of a Valve of this rcharacter through which cooling air can be circulated for 'maintaining the valve at proper operating temperature.

Other' objects of the invention are: to provide a highly ein'cient drive mechanism for a valve of' this character;v to provide eilic'ient lubricating means for the face' of the valve which will distribute lubricant uniformly' over the face, which will notwear grooves in the face, and which will automatically close' oii the oil' supply during the intake stroke' of the engine to prevent oil from being drawn from the supply by vacuum.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and. efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is" had to the accompanying drawing which formsa partv hereof. Like numerals refer to' like parts in all views ofthe drawing and. throughout Ythe description.

Inthe drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical section through the head of a typical internal combustion engine cylinder illustrating the improved valve in place thereon;

Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal cross-sections through the valve, taken on the lines 2--2 and 3 3, Fig. 1, respectively; and

Fig. 4 is a detail View of a sealing ring employed in the improved valve.

In prior rotary valves it has been found that the incoming gas becomes so super-heated in passing through the valve that it lowers the etliciency of the engine due t excess preliminary expansion. 'I'his invention is designed to obviate this objection by providing means for cooling the Valve and for shortening the path of the incoming gas through the Valve. This is accomplished by avoiding all masses of material in the valve itself, and by providing means for constantly circulating cooling air throughout the entire interior of the valve.

One means for accomplishing this is illustrated in the drawing in which a cylinder block is indicated at I0, with its piston at II, water jacket at I2', and spark plug at I3. A valve head I4 is mounted on the cylinder block Ill, and this may also be provided with water jacket space I5, if desired. The head I4 is formed with cylindrical valve receivingseats in each of which a rotary valve I6 is mounted, there being one valve for 3 Claims. (Cl. RSL-190) eah cylinder. The Valve seats pass entirely through the heads I4 and are' closed at their tops byniear'sA4 of an air manifold I'1`. A cylinder port I8 communicates between each of' the cylinders o'f the cylride'i"v block I0 and'v 'tslvalve seats inthe h'e'ad I4'. Y

The Valve IG is Cip-shapd-that is',l it has an open top and a' clcs'ed bottornarid maybe rotated in.' any desired manner. As illustrated, itis provided with a ring worm gear r9 which is. 'p 'ivn from a worin 2u.Y The gear i9 rests against a shoulder 2'I on'the valve' i6 'and is' keyed, 'tothe' latter as shcwn at 2'2. vi

The valve I6 contains two curved' passage tribes., an intake tube' 24,. and an' exhaust tube 25, which communicate through eccentrically" po'- sitioned openings` in the bottom of the vaIvje I6' positioned to alternately aiign with the cylinder p'o'rt' I8 as the' valve rotates. Both tubes exit through the s'i'de Wall of the valve, the tube 25 being in alignment with an intake0 port 26, and the tube 25 being inalignment with an exhaust port 21. The Valve I'6` is so timed' that the tube 2'4" Will connect the port 26 to the cylinder ,port I'8` during the' intake stroke' of the piston II, and the tube 25 will' connect the port 21 with the cylinder port I8 during the exhaust stroke of the piston II.

An air intake passage 28 and an air discharge passage 29 are formed in the air manifold I1. The intake passage communicates With a downwardly extending nozzle 30 axially positioned within the valve I6. The outlet passage 29 communicates through air openings 3| with the hollow interior of the valve I6 around the nozzle 30.

During the operation of the engine a constant supply of cool air is forced into the passage 28 and blown against the bottom of the valve from the nozzle 30, rising from along the Walls thereof to cool the latter, and thence discharging through the passage 29. This provides an enicient cooling system for the Valves at all times during the operation of the motor. It is preferred to form cooling fins 32 on the bottom of the valve to assist in the heat transfer.

The valve is constantly urged upwardly against a thrust bearing 33 by means of a leaf spring 34. The spring acts against a plunger 35, which in turn acts against an oscillating oil-distributing bar 36 to force the latter against the bottom of the valve. The bar 36 is provided with a series of oil slots 31 which intermittently align with oil holes in the plunger 35.

The bar 36 is oscillated by means of an eccentric pin 38 in the bottom of the valve I6. This pin is positioned eccentrically of the axis of the valve and extends into a receiving slot 4I in the bar 36 so that during the intake stroke of the motor the oil holes 31 will be drawn out of alignment with the oil holes in the plunger 35 to prevent sucking in of lubricating oil. During the remainder of the rotation of the Valve, the oil holes will be in alignment to supply lubrication to the bottom of thevalve. The oscillation of the bar 36 prevents wearing circular groovesin the bottom of the valve, and uniformly distributes the lubricating oil over the surface thereof. The jg oil is supplied from an oil pressure line u3S, through a stem 40 on the plunger 35.

'I'he cylinder port I8 is provided with ak sealing ring of a design which will not only seal the port I8 to the Valve and to the cylinder block I0,

but will also exert an upward push on the Valve I6. This ring comprises an annular, truncated:

conical ring member 42 fitting a recess inthe blockl Il conforming tothe contour of the ring member 42. The ring member 42 is provided with a plurality of radially expansible sealing rings '43both in its cylindrical and in its conical surfaces.'V The expansion of rings inthe conical surface' tends to force the ring member 42 upwardly .into.snug, gas-tight engagement with the bottom ofjthevalva The purpose of the come bination of a cylindrical surface and a conical surface on the ring resides inthe fact that the f tsclosely to the head of the cylinder when the piston is in its uppermost position. y

Thisforces the gas into a small chamber formed by the pocket 44 and the port I8 where it` is subjected to great turbulence resulting in 2,412,260 Y t a q claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1,A A rotary valve for an internal combustion engine comprising: a hollow cylindricalvalve positioned and arranged to control the intake and exhaust gases to a cylinder of said engine; an air intake passage discharging into the hollow interior of'said valve; an air discharge passageV communicating with said hollow interior to carry the air therefrom; and a discharge nozzle on said intake passage extending axially into ,saidvalve tojdirect the air toward the bottom there'ofll'H 2. A rotary valve for an internal combustion engine comprising: a hollow cup-shapedv rotary valve; Apassages positioned in said Valve to alternately communicate with a cylinder4 of saidengine; an air intake passage extending` axiallyvinto thelpentop ofrsaid .valve and discharging'within the interior thereof; and an air outlet passage communicating with said hollow interior. 1

v3. A rotary valveforan internal .combustion engine comprising: ahollow Vcylindrical valve po,- sitioned Vand arrangedto control the intake and exhaust gases to a cylinder of said-engine; an oil-distributing bar resting` againstithe' bottom of said valve; a studsprojecting eccentricallyvfrom said valve into said bar to impart a reciprocatory motion to said bar, there .being yoil-distributing passages through said bar.;.' a' plunger` resting against said bar and having -oil holes registering with the rst distributing passages; spring means for urging said plunger against said bar to maintain the latter against the bottom of said Valve;

and means for supplying oil to the oil holesin i said plunger. Y

vCHARM-is W. HALL.Y

This per- 

